POI Fruitcake series
by whomii2
Summary: a series of unrelated holiday stories that somehow involve...a fruitcake
1. Chapter 1 Santa Salvage

Reese and Finch were taking a leisurely walk back to the library after successfully wrapping up their latest number. They were basking in the satisfaction of another job well done and enjoying some of the festive holiday decorations. Their journey was interrupted when a particular sale sign caught Finch's eye. John had thought Harold had better taste, but in the spirit of the season this once he kept his comments to himself. Besides with his furry earmuffs, long scarf, and pleased smile as he clutched his purchase in his mittened hands Finch looked-adorable. In the spirit of peace on earth Reese wisely kept that opinion to himself as well.

Unfortunately, not everyone seemed to be getting into the holiday spirit. As they turned a corner they beheld a group of youths accosting a street side Santa. The elderly Santa was definitely outmatched but determined as he attempted to safeguard his bucket of donations. For John it was as if Christmas came early; he ordered Finch to stay put before wading in and combating the youths. Reese was occupied fighting 3 of the offenders when a fourth tried to blindside him from behind. It was at that moment that Finch made his move by whacking the miscreant over the head with his recent purchase. Defeated and demoralized, their vanquished foes gathered themselves as best they could and staggered off in retreat. Meanwhile, Reese and Finch saw to the safety of the victimized Santa. Fortunately the elderly gentleman was shaken but mostly unharmed. Finch calmed the man down and added a significant donation to his kettle, while Reese made arrangements with Fusco to have the Santa escorted back to headquarters.

While waiting for Fusco, Finch checked out the other innocent victim of the attack-his purchase. Miraculously it had made it through the altercation undamaged. Reese mused that he was rather proud of Harold's improvisation. John might also have to revise his opinion on fruit cake as well, as the little loaf had come in rather handy and made an excellent bludgeon.


	2. Chapter 2 Weaponized

Finch and Reese watched from the surveillance van, waiting for the moment when Reese could enter with the firefighters and sneak back to retrieve the codes from the safe.

Everything had gone according to plan. As expected, the goons had tossed the package in the trash after only a cursory examination. After that it was simply a matter of picking the right time to detonate the disguised plastic explosives. The resulting fire had spread quickly, forcing the bad guys to flee from their formerly impregnable fortress.

As he watched the growing conflagration, Harold sighed and said "Mr Reese, Only you could turn a simple fruit cake into a WMD"


	3. Chapter 3 Countermove

Reese wasn't thrilled with Elias' little arrangement with Finch. He definitely didn't like Finch spending so much time with the master criminal.  
(If Finch wanted a game of chess John would be happy to oblige. Elias could find his own partner).

Reese decided to convey his feelings on the matter with a little yuletide treat. He arranged for a "present" to be sent to Elias courtesy of a bogus charity providing inmates with holiday cheer.

He didn't think Elias would partake, but if he did the laxatives in the fruit cake would certainly make it the gift that keeps on giving.


	4. Chapter 4 Unwanted but necessary

**(occurs in early seasons)**

This was decidedly different. Reese and Finch had been surprised when a package was left for them outside the library. They were even more surprised when Finch traced the order and delivery back to the machine. Now Reese and Finch were staring at the unwrapped fruitcake in bemusement.

Finch remarked that he would have to send a sternly worded email to the Machine to discourage such actions in the future; however, the little grin tugging at his lips showed that Harold was secretly pleased with the present.

Reese, thinking back to his angry yelling at the Machine and his ultimatum during Finch's kidnapping thought that the Machine's motives were much less benign-this smelled of payback.

Their quiet contemplation of the cake in question was interrupted when Bear made his move-grabbing the cake from the table and scampering off down the hall headless of his masters' calls. John set off in pursuit rather half-heartedly and only to placate Harold. As far as John was concerned Bear was welcome to the unwanted present. Unfortunately, the cake had apparently lost its allure as Bear spat it out at the end of the hallway and stalked off in a huff.

John picked up the even more unappealing soggy cake. After looking around furtively for any hidden security cameras, John chucked the cake out the window deciding to blame its loss on Bear.

But the adventures of the fruit cake weren't over yet. Root was lurking in the alley behind the dumpster, waiting for an opportunity to reacquire Finch when Reese took Bear for his walk. Her nefarious plot was thwarted when the falling cake struck her on the head, killing her instantly.

Bear led Reese to the body during his walk of shame after causing the loss of Harold's fruitcake. John found the placement of Root's body fortuitous and heaved it up into the dumpster. He began to mull over ways he could let Harold know that Root's threat had been neutralized without going into too much detail. Finch didn't need to know how close she had come. Reese picked up the wayward cake and, after hesitating for a few minutes, consigned it to the dumpster along with Root. While he had half a mind to bronze the damn thing for going above and beyond the call of duty, they didn't need the reminder. Or the possibility of further fruitcakes in the future.

As Reese and Bear continued their walk, John gave a grudging nod to the surveillance camera on the corner.


	5. Chapter 5 Escape attempt

Scarface had a fruitcake with a file inside delivered to Elias. The guards saw nothing suspicious in the heavy weight of the holiday treat.

Unfortunately Elias was unable to remove the file from the rock-like cake. The most Elias could do was batter the cake against the bars of his cell, which failed to have any impact on said bars and didn't even make a satisfying clanging noise.

From Scarface's point of view the gift was a complete success. Elias had fallen into a rather maudlin state of mind around the holidays, and his dislike of the fruitcake and frustration in trying to remove the file put him in a nasty frame of mind and got him back on track.


	6. Chapter 6 victim or perpetrator

They had just started investigating their new Number, and had not yet determined if he was a victim or a perpetrator.

Reese figured they had just been handed a big clue when he watched the Number open a plain brown package to reveal a large fruitcake.

"I think it's safe to assume someone is definitely out to get this guy."


	7. Chapter 7 Carter's cake

They met up at a local diner.

Finch gifted her with one of his rare full smiles when she gave him the homemade fruitcake. She hadn't quite reached her mother's level of perfection, but she still baked a pretty good fruitcake if she did say so herself.

She knew Finch would appreciate the traditional treat, and she was rewarded with an even larger smile as he tasted a piece of the cake. He delicately dabbed at his mouth with his napkin before complimenting her effusively on the quality of her fruitcake.

She forestalled his attempt to offer Reese a slice with a flat "John doesn't like fruitcake."

Carter rather enjoyed John's dejected look. Maybe next time he would keep his opinions on fruitcake in general and her baking in particular to himself.


	8. Chapter 8 Fusco's cake

If Lionel harbored any doubt that his ex was still mad, then the proof was sitting right in front of him. He doubted that it was in the spirit of goodwill toward men that she had made him the fruitcake.

His son, oblivious to the implication, was simply happy to see his parents getting on so well at the holiday.

So Fusco gamely choked down the slice he had cut for himself - he had certainly swallowed worse than this (his pride for one thing).

But seeing the happy smile on his son's face when he finished the slice, he thought it wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
